Agenda and draft minutes

To remind Members of the need to record the existence and nature of any personal, disclosable pecuniary or other registrable interests in items on the agenda, in accordance with the Members’ Code of Conduct.

Councillors Dominic Boeck and Billy Drummond declared that they had been previously subject to the process outlined in Part 13, Appendix E. However, as this was not an other registerable interest, registerable interest, or disclosable pecuniary interest, they determined to remain to take part in the debate and vote on the matter.

Part 13 Code of Conduct

Part 3 Meeting Procedure Rules

Purpose: to update the Committee on the work undertaken by the Constitution Review Task Group and to propose the approval of the proposed Constitutional updates detailed within the report.

The Committee considered a report (Agenda Item 3) concerning proposed Constitutional changes.

The Service Lead for Legal and Democratic Services introduced the report and highlighted that it was the result of the work of the Constitution Review Task Group who had been working to update and amend the constitution. This report focused on Part 13 of the constitution, relating to codes and protocols, and proposed several substantial changes.

Notably, an initial assessment stage by the Monitoring Officer (MO) was proposed. This would allow the MO to review complaints and ensure that all of the evidence required was provided, and that they relate to the Code, before being progressed. In addition, it was proposed that the advisory panel stage would be removed. These amendments were suggested in order to reduce the processing time for complaints and remove any steps that did not provide significant added value.

Other proposals included combining all codes relating to Members into one appendix, and therefore deleting all the others, enabling the Leader to make an annual report to Council whilst giving allowances for the opposition to respond, and increasing speaking rights from three to five minutes. All other changes were suggested in order to bring the Code more in line with the model Code and the Nolan Principles.

Members thanked the Constitution Review Task Group and Officers for their work on the proposed amendments. A series of minor grammatical amendments were proposed and the Service Lead for Legal and Democratic Services indicated that recommendation E in the report would allow for these amendments to made outside of the Committee meeting. She encouraged any Member with these types of minor amendments to submit them to her.

In response to a question about the purpose for the report, and if it was a result of a faulty process being identified, the Service Lead for Legal and Democratic Services indicated that the Constitution was under constant review, and this was the next section that was due for reconsideration. She assured the Committee that the process was effective but that recent standards complaints had provided the Council with opportunities to learn and improve its processes.

There was discussion about the potential timescale for responses, and that there was a lack of clarity about what would happen should a subject Member or complainant not be able to meet a deadline for a good reason. In response, the Service Lead for Legal and Democratic Services indicated that the MO had previously allowed for extensions to the deadlines if it was considered reasonable, but that this could be explicitly added into the document. The Committee agreed that additional wording should be added to any timescale outlined in the document which would allow for an extension if a reasonable excuse was provided.

On the proposed wording on point 10.1 (iii), Members agreed that this should be simplified to indicate that the meeting will be adjourned if the subject member/complainant provided a valid reason, if no valid reason was provided, then it would proceed.

The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.

Purpose: To inform Members of the draft accounting policies to be applied in the production of the Council’s 2024/25 Statement of Accounts. The report also confirms any amendments to the accounting policies arising from changes in operational activities and/or the impact of any new accounting standards issued.

The Committee considered a report (Agenda Item 4) concerning the Year End 2024-25 Financial Planning Document.

The Senior Financial Controller (Interim) introduced the report and highlighted that the 2023/24 Statement of Accounts had been approved by KPMG at the end of February 2025, in line with the Backstop deadline. He also indicated that the 2024/25 planning was underway. Appendix A to the report outlined updates to the Councils accounting policy with the key change being the adoption of the IRF16 financial reporting standard. Taking advice from the Council’s treasury advisor, the Council is working on finalising the year end document with the aim to complete it ahead of the deadline on 30 June 2025.

In response to a question about past audits, the Senior Financial Controller (Interim) confirmed to the Committee that the 2020/21 accounts were fully audited, and the 2021/22 and 2022/23 audits received a disclaimed opinion in line with the Central Government approved Backstop. All of those audits had been filed and published within the deadline. In addition, Members noted that the Council was up to date with their accounts.

Members questioned some data points in the document which were still marked as being ‘TBC’. However, they were assured that this was normal at this stage of the process and that these figures would be known by the end of April and confirmed in due course.

On the Appendix to the report, the Senior Financial Controller (Interim) clarified to the Committee that the reason why the Downs and Compton schools were separated from the rest was due to the different systems that they used, but the data taken was the same from the other schools, and was also treated the same. Members also requested that the report reflect the current name of the Committee and thereby remove reference to ‘Ethics’.

Overall, as the Committee were satisfied with the report, they agreed to approve the recommendations.

RESOLVED:

That the Committee:

(a)      Approves the draft accounting policies which will be applied in the production of the Council’s 2024/25 Statement of Accounts (Appendix A to the report).

That the Committee notes:

(a)      KPMG is the Council’s external auditor. KPMG issued a disclaimed audit opinion on the Council’s 2023/24 Statement of Accounts and the financial statements were approved on 28 February 2025. The statutory deadline for publishing the 2024/25 Statement of Accounts is 30 June 2025. The public inspection period will commence in early July 2025.

(b)      The internal year-end timetable which will complement the production of the 2024/25 Draft Statement of Accounts (Appendix B to the report).